Strawberry-Blueberry Trifle

Ingredients:

Custard:  12 large egg yolks, 1/2 cup of sugar, 1/3 cup of cornstarch, salt, 2 cups of heavy cream, 1 cup of whole milk, 3 tsp of vanilla.

Trifle: 2 1/2 lb. strawberries cut into quarters, 3/4 cup of sugar, 3 tbsp. orange juice, salt, 3/4 cup of heavy cream, 3 tbsp. confectioners’ sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla extract,  24-36 lady fingers, 3 cups of blueberries.

Place a fine-mesh strainer over a bowl and have another large bowl filled with ice water near stove.  Make custard:  In a large saucepan, whisk yolks, sugar, cornstarch and pinch of salt until blended.  In a medium pan, heat cream and milk to a boil.  Stirring constantly, add a few tablespoons of cream mixture to yolk mixture; gradually add remaining cream, whisking.   Cook over medium low heat, whisking, until hot and slightly thickened but not boiling, about 20 minutes.  Remove from heat; strain into bowl.  Place bowl in ice bath; let cool, stirring occasionally, for 40 minutes.  Stir in vanilla.  Place plastic wrap directly over custard; refrigerate until cold.  Make trifle; Toss strawberries with sugar, orange juice and a pinch of salt; let stand while custard cools, stirring occasionally.  Whip cream, confectioner’ sugar and vanilla until firm peaks form.  Fold one third into custard, then remaining cream.  Arrange half of lady fingers in a 3 quart bowl.  Top with half of strawberries, then half of blueberries, repeat.  Cover with plastic wrap, refrigerate 3 hours.  Enjoy~

The message of this article is really that home and community based services save the state of Maine money.  If home and community based services get cut, this will ultimately push people into more expensive settings, which will cost more money in the long run.  We encourage people to contact their local legislatures to let them know that we need to preserve home and community based services.  You can find your local representatives at www.maine.gov  click on legislature and then click on contact us and click find your representative.